


A Promise is a Promise

by RiYuYami



Series: Pulling Strings [12]
Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine
Genre: A broken friendship, Gen, prequel to the series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-03
Updated: 2017-12-04
Packaged: 2019-02-09 21:50:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12897567
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RiYuYami/pseuds/RiYuYami
Summary: It’s been Henry’s dream to make cartoons come to life since he was a child. Joey had the same dream, except in a different sense.A promise is a promise, just be careful how you word it.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This one is something I’ve wanted to write for a while. A bit of back story on the dreams of Joey Drew and Henry Ross back when they were kids. I mainly wanted to get this written up so I can take a short pause for the next two weeks to work on final papers for the semester. (Though I might still write fics anyway)
> 
> By the way, in my mind and this au, Henry is fifty-five when he returns to the studio, and Joey is fifty-eight, he’s three years older.

_1930_

Henry smiled to himself as he started to pencil in his sketch. “You were so amazin’ on da screen yesterday, I hope we get another short next Saturday. I wonder what kinda crazy adventures you’ve got for me then.” He said to the drawing of a smiling mouse character, who smiled brightly up at him.

“Are you talking to your drawings again?”

The twelve-year-old jumped and scrambled to hide his sketchbook, until he realized who had approached him out here at the deserted park. He nervously chuckled as he looked up at the other standing before him, dark hair, bright brown eyes, a million-dollar smile, and dressed in clean clothes, a complete contrast to the dirty shorts and shirt Henry himself wore.

Though older and better off, Joey Drew was Henry’s best friend.

They grew up together ever since Henry was three and Joey was six, meeting each other at a church event when Joey’s family moved to town. Joey lived in the nicer area, where things were more expensive and cleaner and the Drews owned profitable businesses, while Henry’s family lived on a small farm where his dad owned a car repair shop, and his mom tended to an apple grove.

Joey was an only child, and spoiled because of it, while Henry was the second born, with an older brother who liked to give him a hard time.

Where Joey was prim and proper, rather liking to sit on the sidelines than get down and dirty in a fight with the other boys, Henry was always up for that. He was the kind of kid who would go outside in his nicest clothes and his hair combed, only to come back twenty minutes later, covered in mud and leaves, and holding a big frog in his hands.

Which he did last week, and he proceed to scare the living daylights out of Mrs. Drew when the frog jumped out of his hands and into her clean home when she opened the door to let him see Joey.

There were other differences between the two, Joey wasn’t always the healthiest kid, but he still went to school every day. Henry liked to skip school as much as he could, even when perfectly well, he didn’t want to read and write and do math like Joey! No, he wanted to draw! But other kids at school picked on him for that, luckily Joey was always there to defend him, even at the risk of getting a black eye.

Which happened four times this school year, though two of those times were from Joey’s weird nonsense talking that got him into some trouble with other kids.

As much as Henry loved his best friend, the kid was a bit off his rocker, always talking about weird ideas he had, and often wanting to get Henry involved.

Henry smiled at his friend, who sat down on the log that Henry had been using to hold his sketchbook as he drew. “I’m just tellin’ my drawin’ of Mickey that I liked the cartoon we saw with him in it yesterday!”

“I know you liked it.” Joey chuckled as he sat down. “You didn’t shut up about it all afternoon, I thought your brother was gonna shove his dirty socks into your mouth to get you to shut your gabber.”

The brunet pouted, remembering his older brother Jacob, who was only a year younger than Joey, being annoyed with him after they went to get lunch after seeing a bunch of cartoons in the theater. Jacob was in that teenager phase where he was trying to be a lot better than he really was, or at least that’s what Mom keeps telling Henry.

Uhg, he hoped he’d never act like a jerk when he turned fourteen in two years!

Joey reached over, picking up the book to look at the drawings Henry was doing. “These are really good! You keep getting better and better, Henry.” He smiled at his best friend with pride. “Golly, maybe one day you’ll get to work for that Disney guy! Or maybe the studio that does the Koko the Clown shorts.”

Henry’s face lit up like a Christmas tree. “Ya really think I could? I want to make cartoons so badly, I bet it’s a lotta work, but if I keep tryin’ and practicin’ like this, I bet I could be great!”

He gasped, looking so excited. “M-maybe I’ll even get to make mah own cartoon character!”

“Heh, maybe you will.” Joey smiled, setting the sketchbook back down.

Jumping to his feet, Henry looked at the other boy with a happy, prideful look in his eyes. “Yeah! An’ he’ll be the best! Everyone will know his name an’ he’ll be all over the theaters! The big screen, all over the country, the world! Maybe he’ll be even better than Mickey or Felix! That’s what I want in life, that’s mah dream! For my own character to get his name out there, for everyone to know him an’ love him!”

Joey watched his friend before grinning and standing up as well. “Henry, you’re brilliant! Imagine, not even working for those studios, but actually working in your _own_ studio! Where _you_ make the toons and animation, and you’re in charge!”

Henry paused, blinking. “You… you think I should do that? Make my own studio?”

“Of course! Better yet, let me help you!” He grabbed the smaller boy by the shoulders, a gleeful look on his face. “You and me, Henry, we’ll create our own animation studio. In a few years, when school is all done and stuff, I’ll buy us a studio and a staff! We’ll make cartoons! We’ll make your dream a reality!”

Green eyes widened, and Henry smiled at his friend. “So… if we do this… that means my cartoon dreams will come to life?”

There was a weird look on Joey’s face, as if something seemed to click in his head, before he grinned, nodding. “Yes, yes! We’ll make your cartoon dreams come to life!” The older boy looked so excited, but Henry couldn’t help the small feeling of dread that formed in the back of his head. There was something really weird about how into this idea Joey was, especially since whenever his friend got this look, Henry always felt like something bad was gonna happen.

Still though… Joey was supportive, and he knew that they could make this work!

Henry pulled back and chuckled, nodding, before spitting into his hand, holding it out. “Gotta promise you’ll do this with me, Drew!”

Joey looked a little disgusted at the spit before sighing, knowing that Henry was at least going with the better route of boyish promises, better than a blood oath at least. He didn’t need anymore health issues, thank you very much. He smiled and spat in his own hand, gripping Henry’s outstretched one, shaking it.

“I promise on my life to help you make your cartoon dreams a reality, Ross.” With that, he gave one last, good, firm shake before pulling back his hand.

“A promise is a promise, Joey, never break it, okay?”

“Don’t worry, Henry, I won’t.”

\--

_1937_

A tired yawn came from Henry as he glanced at his watch, uhg, was it only a few hours into his work day? Uhg, it’s gonna be another long, hard day… he hoped that there was coffee in the break room that was strong enough to keep him going.

He tapped his pencil against his desk, hearing chit-chat from the work room just down the small hall from where his office was hidden away. He heard the voices of the young staff that he and Joey had hired, the loudest voice was that of their musician, Sammy Lawrence. He was a man that Joey knew in college, had hired him to do the music for their little shows.

How he got that stubborn man to get involved in cartoons is beyond the young animator, but Sammy was good at his job, and Henry wasn’t going to complain. Especially as he heard the happy song being played by Sammy to the staff, on his banjo.

He chuckled to himself, shaking his head when he heard Sammy yell at someone, Wally it seems, all while still happily playing his music. Green eyes glanced around the small office, seeing all the drawings he had done, lots and lots of art from the past two weeks since the day they opened, and of the ideas he had done beforehand.

Henry smiled softly as he looked at a photo that hung on the wall next to him, surrounded by drawings that he had done. The photo had him and Joey in front of a large building, Henry standing to the right, while Joey sat in his wheelchair, both holding up a sign that said ‘WE DID IT!’. The building that he and Joey had spent six years saving up for, had designed and planned, had been able to have made into their dream business.

The brightly painted sign above the door read _JOEY DREW STUDIOS_ on it, but Henry didn’t mind, Joey was the one to really make this possible, and Henry was happy to just be known as the co-founder. And, of course, head animator.

Henry was so happy about that title, he was actually doing it! He was doing the dream he’s had since he was a little kid!

Sure, he was exhausted, it’s been two weeks and he’s barely been able to go home with how much work they had to do, especially to get their first cartoons out there, but it was worth it.

And what was going to make everything even more so was the new idea Henry had.

Well… Henry wouldn’t really consider the idea ‘new’ per say, more like a rehash of a concept he had a long time ago. A little character he had drawn while he spent his last years of high school without Joey, a character he’s never shown anyone before, until today.

He turned his attention to the drawing before him, setting down his pencil, before grabbing for the ink well he had. It had been a gift, from Joey, the day they opened. Joey had told him happily that it was a special ink, only for Henry to use, to make his characters even more lively than they had ever been before.

Henry didn’t understand what he had meant by that, but Joey was a showman, he liked to be theatrical with his gifts and such.

He looked at the black bottle, with a skull and crossbones on it, some strange brand he had never heard of, but Henry felt like he should use the gift now, especially on the character he was designing for Joey to see.

The character was someone Henry had been putting a lot of thought into for a while, especially since his original idea had been rather basic. Just a little devil he had drawn all over a notebook page, a curious fellow with a love for dancing. He kept that idea, but decided to branch out more.

Make the devil a cute character that could be quite the little imp if he wanted to be. A misleading smile that his how mischievous he was, but it was obvious he had a heart of gold to him. A born entertainer, a shining star, the whole world is his stage and he’s always ready for the spotlight!

Carefully, Henry dipped his pen into the ink before he began to do the linework. The page was covered in various sketches of the character, but he was going to ink the main one, the one that looked up at Henry with the biggest, happiest smile.

“Heh, I’ve got a little secret for you, li’l guy. When I was twelve, Joey and I made a promise to one another to bring cartoons to life on the big screen. I wanted to make a character the world was gonna love and adore, and you know what?” He asked the drawing as he started to ink in an eye. “I have a good feeling that you’re gonna be that character, heh, don’t tell anyone, okay?”

The drawing just continued to smile up at him. The ink that Henry was using was working wonders, it was so smooth, he couldn’t even see the scratches in the paper from where he inked, it just flowed so well, a solid black with no imperfections.

He smiled a bit. “The world is gonna know about you, the world is gonna love Bendy the Dancing Demon! You’ll be a shining star, the biggest name in cartoons since Felix the Cat!” He knew it was dumb to talk to his drawings, but old habits die hard.

It… was rather interesting, talking to Bendy, from how he drew the little devil, it was almost as if the guy was looking at him, listening to him. He swore the smile looked bigger and happier than how he had penciled it, but maybe he was just imagining things, or it was from how he inked it.

He set the pen aside and looked at the finish drawing, still smiling up a storm. “Do me proud, Bendy. Come on, let’s go show you to Joey, I hope he likes you as much as I do, and if so… well, maybe the promise we made will happen.”

\--

_1944_

Joey sat before the Ink Machine, smiling sadly at it for a moment before laughing to himself as he picked up the drawings that sat on his lap.

Concept art, all concept art and models of Bendy.

All of them drawn perfectly by Henry, in that beautiful style of his that practically screamed life and personality. No one can animate and draw like him, even when it came to cartoons. That ‘special’ ink that Joey had gifted him, and secretly kept refilling, also helped do wonders for making the other’s art as amazing as it is.

It’s too bad he decided to jump ship, leaving this place behind to go fight in a senseless war.

No one else in the studio was out in the battlefields, so why did it only happen to Henry?

Tired, brown eyes stared at the drawings, at the signature in the corner of each page.

Shaking his head, he placed each drawing into a tray in the machine, then pushed it in. “Well, Henry, you may have betrayed me, but the least I can do is keep my promise to you.” He sighed, looking at his hand, the one he had used to seal the deal.

Using it, he grabbed the switch on the machine, and pulled.

The Ink Machine churned and moved, loud and banging, ink poured from the spout before a thick blob spat out of it after clogging the machine for a few moments. The blob hit the ground, landing in a pentagram, drawn in ink.

The blob shifted, moved, rising as large chunks of it fell, splattering on the hardwood floor as the pentagram began to vanish, absorbed by the forming figure.

It took only moments, but the ink finally solidified into a recognizable shape and the smiling form of Bendy stood there, looking at Joey with curiosity and awe.

The director blinked, but smiled. Well, it wasn’t quite correct to the drawings, from what he could see, but he at least fulfilled his promise.

‘I made your dream come to life, Henry, I did it without you, and you’ll probably never know.’

END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first Bendy, who was killed only hours later for not being perfect, was only born so Joey could get rid of the guilt he felt for not fulfilling his promise to Henry. A promise he misread, considering he was, at a young age, already looking into dark magic out of curiosity and the idea of bringing something to life appealed to him greatly.
> 
> Well… At least my version of Joey was into occult stuff at an early age, and Henry never saw it coming.
> 
> Also, yes, Henry use to speak like Bendy when he was a kid, but he straightened up on that over the years, and doesn’t do it much anymore. Henry has no idea that Bendy sounds like him as a child, which, to Joey, was very jarring the first time he heard it. Hearing the twelve-year old voice of your ex-best friend coming out of your living cartoon? Holy shit???
> 
> He killed that Bendy out of fright, then realized that the character never had a voice, only Henry ever gave him one when he was drawing him, when he would talk to his drawings as if they were alive. So, every Bendy after that, including the one alive now, all sound like a little kid Henry. 
> 
> Henry’s voice for Bendy is just the voice of the same kid who use to talk to his Mickey Mouse, Felix the Cat, and Koko the Clown drawings, it seems rather fitting, since in my mind, Bendy’s personality is that of a child!Henry. Well, show-wise, game-wise? He's a just a huge dickwad.
> 
> Oh, and one last thing, Henry didn’t go to college, he sorta just… got a job right after high school. Joey had graduated from high school early (cause he’s a smart guy), finished college, got a degree in business, and basically pulled Henry into being his co-founder for the studio just months after high school. Took them about a year to get everything ready for the studio to open, but still, Henry didn’t really go to college in this au (after the war he does, and now he’s a mechanic like his dad is).
> 
> This is all just my headcanon stuff, especially for this au, take of it what you will.
> 
> Anyway, thanks for reading, sorry for getting chatty in the end notes. Please comment and leave kudos!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You have to confront your troubles eventually, Henry.
> 
> Even if you don't want to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story wasn’t meant to be chaptered, but I couldn’t resist writing the fall out of the Henry and Joey friendship.
> 
> On with the fic!

_1943_

Henry had been confused when he came home, seeing the letter addressed to him.

Opening it though… left a feeling of cold dread in his stomach as he read over the contents of the letter.

Drafted. He had been drafted to fight in the European Theater.

He had walked around his apartment, talking to himself over and over about it, before he spoke to Linda about the letter. He even called up his mother and father. All of them told him he had to do it, he couldn’t reject it, it was basically against the law!

And Henry was an honorable man, he couldn’t say no, he couldn’t fake his way out of this.

But what about his job? The studio?

Joey?

How would Joey react to finding out about this? What would he do?

Henry swallowed the lump in his throat as he stood outside his business partner’s door, seeing the name ‘Joey Drew’ painted on the tinted glass. He could hear faint music playing inside, muffled by the door. Glancing down, Henry looked at the folded letter in his hand, before he straightened up, and knocked.

He heard Joey call out to come in, and he opened the door, stepping inside. Joey was writing something at his desk on his typewriter, probably a new script. He paused and looked over at the brunet, smiling. “What can I do for you, Henry?”

It was now or never, Henry thought as he approached the desk, quietly placing the folded paper down. Joey looked confused, before picking it up, opening it. He read it over, and was silent for a few moments. With a heavy sigh, he folded the paper, setting it back down. “No.”

“No?” Henry frowned, raising an eyebrow. “What do you mean ‘no’?”

“You know exactly what I mean. You are not going to war, Henry. You have a duty here at the studio.”

Henry stuttered, confused. “W-what do you mean I’m not goin'? Joey, I could get arrested for not goin'!”

“Tell them you're sick.”

“I’m in perfect health! I’m the right age and physically healthy to go to war! If I fake it, I’m sure they’ll know, you know I’m a terrible liar.”

Joey just stared at him with calculating brown eyes, but his face was passive, there was no way to tell what he was really thinking. The older man let out another sigh, rubbing at his forehead. “Henry, my dear friend… you can’t just leave.”

“I have to.”

“You’re abandoning me.”

Henry twitched, the words sounded accusing. “I’m not, I-I’ll fight, then come back. I’ll only be gone for a short time.”

“You’ll die.” Joey snapped. “You’ll go fight a pointless war and get yourself killed! And then what, Henry? You can’t come back if you’re dead! It’s not that easy…” He hissed, drumming his fingers on the desk. “It’s not that simple…”

The younger of the two bit his lip, opening his mouth to speak, but was cut off as Joey continued. “You’ll get killed out there, Henry, and what will become of this studio? I don’t know if I can run it by myself. I need you, you’re the co-founded, and the head animator.”

He turned, brown eyes staring directly at green. The room suddenly felt so uncomfortable, like all the air had been sucked out of it.

“Your art is the best, it keeps this studio alive, it’s like the heart. I am the mind of Joey Drew Studios, you are the heart, you give life while I give ideas. We can’t just have ideas here, we need them to be brought to life, by your wonderful hands.”

“You can find a replacement for the time being… I know lots of studios have artists and staff who have also been drafted, and they make do…”

“Because they have more people!” Joey shouted. “And we do not have the time or money to hire a whole new team just because the government decided it needed more cannon fodder!”

Henry shook his head, holding up his hands. “Joey, please…”

“Henry, I need you here!”

“I can’t stay! I’ll be gone for a while, but I’ll be back! I would never just abandon my dream forever, even with roadblocks in the way. I will come back, this is my home, my legacy! Bendy is here!”

Joey narrowed his eyes at Henry. “You will abandon this place, you will either die or you’ll just give up and never come back.”

“I would never do that!” Henry snapped at him, stomping his left foot on the floor, hard. “Stop thinkin' I’d do somethin' that horrible!”

“Get out.”

Henry paused, blinking. “What?”

“I said…” Joey sighed through his nose, closing his eyes as he leaned back in his chair, “get out. You’re fired, Henry. If you won’t reject the letter, then… I’ll just have to reject you.”

It felt like someone dumped a bucket of ice water all over Henry as he stared at his friend with wide eyes. “B-but…”

“I won’t allow you to abandon me, Henry. If you must go, then I’ll save you the trouble of never returning by making you never come back. If you can’t put this business first, then what’s the point of having you here?”

“But you just… you wanted me here…”

Joey nodded. “I do, yes, but I can’t have you going off to war with no chance of returning like you said. So better to just get rid of you now, saves me the trouble. You are no longer needed here, pack up your things and leave, you’re not coming back. And if you even think of coming back, well… I don’t think you want to test those waters, Ross.” He said, his voice too calm for such words.

The cold dread he felt was suddenly heated up by anger that grew in Henry. “So that’s it, huh? I’m going to be sent to do my patriotic duty, and you decide that I’m no longer needed just because I literally can’t say no?”

He stepped up to the desk and slammed his hands down on it, glaring down at the seated man. “You know what, Drew? Maybe it’s for the best that I’m leavin’. I know you’ve been stealin’ my credit in the recent episodes. ‘Written and directed by Joey Drew’, on episodes I helped to write, that I was helpin' to direct, that I did the main animation for, that I did the concept art for, episodes that were my doing, not yours.”

Joey just stared at him, not looking away as Henry leaned in closer. “You’re stealin’ my work, Drew. You’ve been doin’ this shit since day-fuckin'-one. This business relationship was suppose to be give and take, well guess what! I give, give, give, and all you do is take, take, fuckin’ take!”

He slapped a few items off the desk, knocking them to the ground in his rage. “You’ve done that for years, ever since we were kids.” He mumbled, feeling himself shake with a swirl of emotions. “My own best friend, a thief…” He grabbed the letter, standing up straight, looking down at the other man.

“I’ll show myself out. Have a good life, Drew.” He turned, not hearing anything being said from Joey as he threw open the door. He spared him a glance, just seeing the other looking at the items knocked to the floor, a bored expression on his face.

Henry slammed the door shut when he left, storming his way down the halls, down the stairs, to his little office. He wanted to break things, tear things apart. He grabbed the ink well on his desk, ready to hurl it at the wall, but he stopped, staring at the many drawings he had tacked to the wall, the photo that hung there since the first week.

He looked at his and Joey’s smiling faces in the photo, at the drawings of his toons, and the many sketches he did of his fellow staff members. It broke his heart to look at all the faces, knowing that… well… he’d probably never see them all again. He grabbed a box from the stairwell, where they had been keeping some of their storage, and returned to his office, beginning to put things inside.

He put in some of the drawings, a lot of his favorites, and the photo. He covered up his and Joey’s faces with a drawing of Bendy, dressed up for the beach, heh, that had been a fun episode to do. There was another sketch, a design of the Devil Darlin’ in a fancy tux.

He smiled sadly at the drawings. “Hey… looks like I’m not gonna be drawin’ you for the show anymore. Ya see, ol’ Joey and I had a fallin’ out…” He mumbled to a drawing of Bendy he had picked up, a really nice set of sketches he had done to practice facial expressions.

“He doesn’t want me here anymore, guess I’m gone, I gotta go fight in a war and Joey doesn’t like that. Fired me because of it, so I gave him what for. Should have punched him, heh, bet you’d think that would be funny, yeah?”

He set the drawing down, before looking at his desk, seeing his ink well, the one he was going to throw. It was the gift from Joey, one of a few ink wells he had been given over the years by the guy. He put it into the box, along with three more. He decided to leave one behind, just as a reminder, and maybe for a new artist to find it.

Henry also picked up a Bendy plush, they were still working on designing toys for the show, and Henry had two of them. The first was the original prototype, given to him by Joey and Shawn, which he had at home. This one was one Henry just kept in the office as a little companion, well, he was gonna take him home as well.

It hurt to put his stuff into the box, he was leaving behind everything that he worked on for six years, because Joey was angry at him, angry at him for doing the right thing. And now he was sure he was going to never be able to return, especially after blowing up in his friend… ex-friend’s face about stealing his credit.

He didn’t even mention that he had heard from Grant that Joey was looking into copyright laws, trying to see how he could get certain rights on the characters.

Henry bit his lip, feeling his eyes stinging with unshed tears. No, no, he shouldn’t cry, no one needed to see him do that…

He put the last of his stuff inside the box, there wasn’t much, but it was still a lot he had to take with him, cause he’d never see them again if he didn’t.

All that he left behind were a few drawings, an ink well, and a tape recorder he had in the office, with a message from his first few weeks here.

It was a little thing, nothing really important, but he felt like it would be right to just leave it.

Maybe Joey would hear it and feel like a dick about his behavior, but then again, why would Joey want to do that? He clearly didn’t really care about Henry, all he cared about was his artistic talent and making money for this studio.

Standing up, Henry picked up the box and moved to step out of the office, only to come face-to-chest with a tall figure. Looking up, he saw Norman staring down at him with soft, sad eyes. “He really just lettin’ ya go like that?” The older man asked.

Oh… how much had Norman heard?

“It’s probably for the best.” Henry sighed. “He took my credit, stole my spotlight, it was only a matter of time before shit between us got worse anyway, he hasn’t been a good friend to me in a long time…”

Norman stared down at him, putting a hand on the other’s shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. “A word of caution, my friend… don’t be comin’ back here, lookin’ fer trouble… I’ve been seein’ dang near too many strange things in ‘dis here place, ya know?”

Henry looked at him in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“Mr. Drew’s got some… ideas brewin’ in that head of his… I saw some weird plans, weird blueprints. Don’t be lookin’ too much into it, I don’t think he’s gonna get it made, whatever it is.”

“Why are you tellin’ me this?”

“Cause we both know we’re the only ones who would believe ol' Joey’s up to no good.”

Well, that was true. Henry just nodded, giving the projectionist a smile and a pat on the shoulder. “Take care of yourself, Norman, stay out of trouble. And please keep an eye on the place, take care of our friends.”

“Don’t worry, Henry,” Norman smiled, giving a nod, “I sees everythin’, I’ll protect ‘em from ol’ Drew’s crazy ideas.”

The smaller man chuckled, giving a nod as he stepped past Norman, heading for the front door. He took one last look at the workshop before going down, heavy box in his arms, and heavy feelings in his heart.

“A promise is a promise… well, I promise to you, Joey, that I’ll come back…”

\--

_1945_

Henry stared out the window of the truck, looking at the building it was parked in front of.

“Are you sure you want to do this?”

Green eyes glanced over at the driver, a man who looked a lot like Henry, just a bit more muscular, older, missing his right ring finger. Jacob, Henry’s older brother, stared at him with concern. “You don’t have to, we can just go back to your place.”

“I want to talk to him.”

“He doesn’t deserve it.”

“I know, but I want some closure.” Henry frowned, opening the door to get out, being careful of his leg. In 1944, Henry had taken a nasty hit to his leg and hip from a grenade. He had been lucky that it didn’t kill him, or that he didn’t lose his leg in the explosion. But he was still recovering, sent home with a purple heart just weeks after being in a hospital on bed rest, getting over a nasty infection.

He was doing physical therapy, walking with a slight limp in his recovery to get his leg working right again. He took his cane and looked back at his brother, who had been nice enough to take him to the old studio.

He gave the older Ross a weary smile, before turning to the studio and began to walk up to it. He got to the front door, feeling so nervous, before he knocked on it.

The door opened a bit, and Henry relaxed a little at the sight of the man who opened it. It was Wally, the janitor, a man that Henry had been on good terms with. He looked the same as ever, a bit chubbier in the cheeks, with his curly hair having grown out a bit more, but still the same man who always seemed to misplace his keys.

Wally looked up at him with wide eyes and a grin. “Well I’ll be a monkey’s uncle, Ross! It’s you!” He said, accent thick as ever, but just a second later, his grin dropped. “You shouldn’t be here, Drew, he’s… he ain’t gonna be happy to see your mug around these parts…”

“Is he still mad that he fired me?”

“Fired you?” Wally looked shocked. “He told us you quit!”

“Wally, do I look like the kinda guy who would quit the job of his dreams?” Henry deadpanned.

“Uhh… well… no, not exactly, b-but you really should go, Joey gets super angry whenever anyone even says yer name…!”

“Wally!” Someone shouted down the hall. “Aren’t your suppose to be sweeping, I can’t have you opening the door all willy-nilly, we’re not warming the outside!”

Henry and Wally both tensed up at the voice, it was Joey’s.

“Are you even listening to m-” Joey’s words died in his throat as he looked at who it was that Wally was talking to at the door. “Henry?”

“Hey, Joey.” Henry lifted a hand, trying to wave at him. “I-I came to talk to you…”

“You actually lived.” Joey’s voice was tight in his throat.

“Heh, you could say that, took a nasty wound there, almost lost a leg, but I’m still goin’. Ya can’t really kill me it seems.” The brunet shrugged, trying to play it off, but the dark look he got from Joey made him stop.

“Yes, it seems so.” Joey replied, but smiled, it was strained. “Wally, step aside, please.”

The janitor looked worried, but did as he was told, watching Joey roll up to the door, grabbing the handle. “Henry, I told you to never come back. And yet you did. This is your only warning.” He still had the smile on his lips as he slammed the door right in Henry’s face.

Quickly, Joey turned his chair around and rolled himself down the hall. “Don’t you dare let him in, Wally, or it will be your head.” Joey called out as he turned a corner, probably heading off to that weird Ink Machine room…

Wally shifted, gripping his broom tightly, before looking at the door. He opened it when he knew he was alone, looking at Henry. The taller man just had a look of sheer disappointment on his face. “I guess I’m not gonna talk to him, am I?”

“Probably not, probably for da best anyway. If I were you, I’d totally never come back, with a boss like that? Closin’ da door in mah face? Heh, I’d throw open dat door an’ tell ‘em dat I am outta here!”

A sad smile came to Henry’s face. “Get out while you can, okay, Wally? Take care of yourself, and… tell the others I said hi.”

“Don’t worry, pal, I will.” A small, sad smile graced the janitor’s lips as he watched his old animator friend limp down the steps, heading to a truck parked out front. He frowned as he closed the door.

“You’re lucky you got outta here when ya did, Henry, you don’t wanna be here like some of us…” He rubbed at a spot on his arm, a dark spot that he couldn’t really clean off.

Maybe he really should get outta here, like he kept saying…

END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoo boy, this was a long one.
> 
> Like many other Henry writers, I’m jumping on the bandwagon that he left cause he was drafted, but I’m also all for the idea of him having his ideas and credit stolen by Joey, and that Joey was planning on copyrighting the characters Henry created.
> 
> Henry’s injuries are shrapnel to the left leg and hip. He’s got a slight limp, but you can’t really notice it unless if his old wounds are aching, or when he’s running. His leg is covered in lots of scars from it.
> 
> Also, he keeps a lot of his old work stuff on a shelf in his living room, but the plushie from his office sits in his room on his nightstand. Bendy is a venting object for him, and it helps him when he needs someone to talk to, but he is all alone. He still has the ink wells, he doesn’t use them again until the night he draws Bendy with one, then has a nightmare where  
> Bendy comes to life and turns into a monster.
> 
> Hm, I wonder if there’s a connection between the dream and the ‘special’ ink.
> 
> I did not beta this after I wrote it, so forgive me for any mistakes.
> 
> I don’t know if another chapter will be made, but enjoy what I’ve written so far!
> 
> Thanks for reading, don’t forget to leave a kudos and a comment!


End file.
